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Mnuchin vows debt limit won't become crisis

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday he won't let the debt ceiling become a political crisis.

Mnuchin said he's already had talks with members of both parties on Capitol Hill and that both Democrats and Republicans understand the importance of raising the debt ceiling.

"There's no question about that. People agree ... we're not going to let this become an issue."

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He added: "By the way, we're not going to do one of these wait to the last minutes either. So we'll get the debt limit done in plenty of time."

Mnuchin's comments on the debt ceiling will be closely watched by Washington and Wall Street, where markets have been roiled in the past by fights between the executive branch and Congress over raising the nation's borrowing limit.

Refusing to raise the debt ceiling could eventually cause the United States to default on its debts.

Treasury uses "extraordinary measures" to keep the government operating once the ceiling is reached, and Mnuchin said these steps would give him plenty of time.

"One of the fun parts of my job is I get to use the superhuman powers to manage the debt ceiling, so I would say, in the near term, there's nothing we're concerned about," he said during an event hosted by the The Hill.

"We have the cash flow to manage the government. Matter of fact, we had one of the largest days ever of collecting tax receipts on April 18."

Mnuchin said he's "comfortable" that "we're fine" into the summer.

"Again, this is a discussion we're having with the House and Senate. I do think we need to raise the debt ceiling," he said.

"We've already spent the money. This is not the budget process, and we're going to raise it," he said.

Mnuchin last month urged Congress to increase the debt ceiling "at the first opportunity."

"As I said in my confirmation hearing, honoring the full faith and credit of our outstanding debt is a critical commitment," Mnuchin said in a letter to congressional leaders last month.